


Broken Wings

by PearlsonFriday



Series: Olivarry Week 2016 [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Crazy Henry Allen Haters, F/M, Island Flashbacks, M/M, Olivarry Week Day 2: Protective/Jealousy, Timelines, Violent flashbacks, What timelines?, pinioning, wing fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2016-06-06
Packaged: 2018-07-12 16:10:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7112956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PearlsonFriday/pseuds/PearlsonFriday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver slammed his bow down on the metal table. He was pissed.</p><p>There wasn’t supposed to be any casualties. Now two guards were dead, Lyla had gotten shot and Roy’s wing was sliced to oblivion by a boomerang. </p><p>All because Oliver wasn’t fast enough. </p><p>All because Oliver couldn't fly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Broken Wings

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I was super excited about this fic. It only barely touches on today's prompt, but I couldn't not write it! I hope you like it!

Oliver slammed his bow down on the metal table. 

He was pissed.

There wasn’t supposed to be any casualties. Now two guards were dead, Lyla had gotten shot and Roy’s wing was sliced to oblivion by a boomerang. 

All because Oliver wasn’t fast enough. 

All because Oliver couldn't fly. 

He slipped off his jacket and the undershirt that clung to his chest. Then he unclipped the brace. His soft brown and golden wings unfurled from his back. 

When Oliver used to be a playboy, his wings had been his pride and joy. His 18-foot wingspan had far outmatched all those around him. They were part of the reason he picked up so many more girls (and boys) than Tommy. 

Now as he looked at the reflection of his wings in the glass suitcases, he cringed. 10 feet, four feet off both end. The flashback was a punch in the face. 

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

Slade growled as he paced back and forth across the metal floor of the ship. Oliver was strung up in chains in front of him, his back still screamed in pain from where he had been branded. 

“What can I take from you now that will make you suffer?” Slade muttered to himself looking from his sword to Oliver’s picture of Laurel. 

Oliver’s wings flutted gently, as he tried to adjust them so that they wouldn’t touch the burn. A cruel glimmer entered into Slade’s eyes. He stopped pacing as a smirk stretched across his face.   
He stalked over and grabbed Oliver’s left wing, his own blood red wings extended to their full length. 

“I’ll take away your only hope of leaving this island.” He pulled his sword off his back and laughed as realization and then horror dawned on Oliver’s face. 

Slade laughed humorlessly and swung his sword. 

CRACK. Pain like nothing oliver had ever experienced. He screamed. With a thud, the end of his left wing fell to the floor. Blood poured out of the wound, it splashed onto the floor. Oliver threw up.  
Slade reached out to grab his right wing. Oliver reacted instinctively, straining to keep his right wing as close to his back as possible. 

Slade sheathed his sword and wrenched the wing open. He brought out his sword and hacked it off.   
Oliver screamed again and his knees gave out. He could feel the blood draining out of him. 

Slade frowned at that, he watched Oliver hang for a few seconds more and then he left. 

Oliver hung by his arms and tears poured down his face, Shado was gone, Sara was gone and he would never fly again. Death would be preferable. Slade’s big boots appeared in Oliver’s blurry vision. He looks up at the man who had one been his only friend. He looks up at the Australian, noticing the flares in his hands. 

“This is going to hurt.”

He lights one and grabs one of Oliver’s wings. He puts fire to flesh. Oliver blacks out. 

When he wakes up again it’s night. He tries to stand but he slips in the dark pool at his feet. His blood. He tries again and succeeds. A single beam of moonlight partially fills the room allowing him to see. He scans the room only to find it still devoid of people, what really catches his eyes is at his feet. 

The tips of his wings. 

Drenched in blood and laid out in a heart shape. Above it drawn in blood was a single word: SHADO. 

That night Oliver cried. 

That night he decided he would live. He would make it home and he would live for those who could not. 

He decided that no one would know….. 

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

Oliver snapped to the present. Paper still fluttered around as the Scarlet Speedster came to a dead stop behind him. 

“Oh, Oliver….” 

Oliver snapped his wings back to their position tight against his spine. He spun to look at the man in red. 

“What is it, Barry?” He hissed. 

“I came to make sure you weren’t beating yourself up, but it looks like I’m too late for that.” 

Oliver growled. “Well, I’m fine so you can leave now.” He turned back to the table that held his bow and began to fuss with the strings. Obviously giving Barry the silent treatment. 

“No,” Barry whispered. 

Oliver whirled to face him. “What?” He managed through clenched teeth. 

Confidence flooded the younger man and he took a step forward. “No, I am not going to leave you here to drown in your misery.” 

Anger flared inside of Oliver. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to be like me? Disabled? Not able to save a friend because you aren’t fast enough?” Barry opened his mouth to respond, but Oliver cut him off. “No you don’t. You have your speed and your wings.” Oliver laughed deprecatingly. “I’m a guardian angel with no wings.” He looked back down at the bow still in his hands. 

Silence echoed through the room. Until a small voice broke it. 

“Who ever said I had wings?”

Oliver’s head snapped up to look at the other vigilante. “What did you say?”

Barry looked into Oliver’s eyes. “Who ever said I had wings?” 

Oliver was confused. “What do you mean?” 

He watched as Barry swallowed hard, pulling the cowl off his head and unzipped the top of his suit. Oliver’s confusion was slowly turning to dread. Barry slipped his arms out and turned so his back faced Oliver. 

Two jagged pink scars stood where two wings should be. 

Horror shot through Oliver as he reached out to touch one. Barry scrambled away from the touch. Oliver pulled his hand back and stared clenched-jawed at the man who now faced him. His horror was turning to rage pretty fast. 

“Who?” He almost growled. 

Barry sighed and pushed himself up onto the metal table. “It’s a long story.” 

Oliver clenched his bow in his hand. “I have time.” 

Barry eyed the bow wearily. “Put the bow down and we’ll talk.” Oliver very reluctantly set the bow on the table next to Barry. 

“It started about six months after my mother’s death….” 

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

 

Barry smiled excitedly at the boy situated across from him at the lunch table. John Lee was the first friend he had had since his mother’s death and Iris. They were talking about snakes. John’s mom had been one his dad’s patients. She hadn’t made it. Barry had remembered the way his dad had walked into the house so heavily that day. He had scooped Barry up and held him tightly to his chest. 

That was one of many things John and he had had in common; they both had no moms. 

Barry knew that Joe didn’t like John, well more specifically his dad. John’s dad was a fireman with a fiery temper to match. Barry didn’t care, John was one of the few people that still listened to and liked him. In fact, they had planned a sleepover that weekend.

“It’s gonna be so much fun! We are totally going to have to watch Star Wars!” Barry gushed wings fluttering in excitement. John laughed at his enthusiasm. 

“I can’t wait.” Barry had not caught the cruel glimmer in John’s eyes. 

The day had arrived and Joe had dropped Barry off. Just as the little boy slid out of the car, Barry looked back at him. 

“Be careful.” 

“I’ll be fine Joe.”

How wrong he had been. 

It had gone well for the first few hours. John and Barry had played action figures, played tag in the air and did actually watch Star Wars. It had all gone wrong when John had left to “use the bathroom” and Barry nodded and continued reading his book. 

John was gone for a long time. 

Barry had started to get anxious. 

“John?” No answer.

“Mr. Lee?” Still no answer. 

Barry tripped down the stairs, peering around every corner, wings puffed with anxiety. He reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around the corner. From behind him, he never saw the bat coming. 

When Barry woke up, his hands and feet were tied together and he was sitting on the living room floor. Mr. Lee looked down at him with contempt. Barry was confused. 

“Mr. Lee? Why am I tied up? Can you untie me? I don’t like this.” Mr. Lee just glared at him. “You’re scaring me.” The man growled and Barry flinched. 

“YOUR SON OF A BITCH WIFE MURDERING FATHER TOOK MY WIFE!” His voice shook the room.   
Tears ran down Barry’s cheeks. “I don’t understand. My dad never killed my mom! He would never kill your wife!” The man slapped him. 

Barry cried out and frantically searched the room for a way to escape. He met John’s eyes, who had been standing off to the side. “John! John! Help me!” 

John took a step forward like he was going to help Barry. Instead, he spits in his face. “Your dad took my mom.” 

Barry cried harder. “No, he didn’t! Stop! I want to go home! I want Joe!” 

Mr. Lee shoved a sock in his mouth. “Shut up! Your father took something precious of mine so I’ll take something of his!” He roared, pulling a fireman’s ax from his belt. He swung it at Barry’s head, stopping just as the blade rested on the boy’s forehead. Barry’s wings shot out in fear as he tried to scramble away from the man. 

“I can’t take your life, too messy….” His eyes landed on Barry’s wings. “So I’ll take those from you instead.” He yanked Barry’s head forward and in one smooth motion cut the wings at their base. 

Barry screamed. 

The wings fell limply to the floor. Blood poured down his back. 

Barry screamed again, louder this time. 

Mr. Lee grabbed John by the arm, who had been staring at Barry in wonder. “We need to go. Some one must have called the cops by now.” John nodded slack jawed and allowed his father to tug him away. Then they were gone. 

The world swam in front of Barry’s eyes. The last thing he remembered was the scream of sirens in the distance. 

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

Barry sat on the table watching as a flurry of emotions whipped across Oliver’s face. He sighed. 

“So he wanted revenge on your Dad?” 

Barry laughed sadly. “Yeah, apparently he thought my dad practiced on his wife. He couldn’t kill me though so he took my access to the sky.” 

Oliver stared at the man in front of him. “I’m sorry Barry, I didn’t know. I just….” He looked at the ground. 

“It’s okay. That’s the point, I just let people assume, but you’re forgiven.” Barry spoke softly as he slid off the table. 

Oliver looked at the floor. “How…. How… do you?”

“I’ve had a lot longer to get over it. When I was little I hated myself and was jealous of Iris. Then I realized that I could still do stuff. I could still run and jump and dance. Later in life I realized that I could use my “unique” set of circumstances to help people. I learned that every dark cloud has a silver lining. At CCPD I deal with almost all of the wing related victims.” Oliver looked up into his eyes. “My speed is the closest thing I have had to flying. It makes me feel free again.” 

Oliver reached out and set a hand on his bare arm. Barry let it happen. “We are both flightless angels.” 

Silence echoed through the Arrow Cave (Foundry!).

Oliver looked at the man in front of him. Barry had gently eased his arm off and slipped his suit back on minus his cowl. He was still smiling at Oliver, never having once said anything about his wings. Oliver may or may not be a little bit in love. 

“How did Henry react to finding this out?” The smile dropped from Barry’s face. Oliver was tempted to say forget it so the smile would come back. 

“Not well.”

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

It had been four days. Joe had called him to tell him that Barry was in the hospital, but not for what. He had waited anxiously all day for the guards to appear and bring him to his son. If anything was wrong with him…. Well, Henry was already in prison.   
Just then a guard appeared in front of his cell. “Let’s go, you have visitors.”

Joe had pulled a few strings. Today Henry would be able to touch his son. Barry stumbled along beside him, eyes puffy from days of crying. Joe squeezed his hand and the boy looked up him and in doing so, cringed in pain. 

Joe had never hated someone so much. He could only imagine how Henry would react. 

Not well. 

As they entered the small steel plated room, Henry had his eyes on them instantly. He watched as Barry pulled away from Joe and sprinted towards him. Henry kneeled down and caught the little boy, who had begun sobbing. Henry held him tighter. He rubbed his hands down Barry’s back, feeling the gauze there as the boy sobbed harder. That's when he realized what was missing. 

Barry’s wings. 

They were gone. 

His head snapped up to Joe. The old cop stared back. “Who?” He hissed. 

Joe flicked his eyes to Barry’s back. “He had a friend, John Lee, and went over to his house for a sleepover. His father Marshall Lee, was a volunteer firefighter. Blamed you for killing his wife and decided to get back at you.” 

Henry hugged Barry tighter. The sobs began to dissipate. Barry pushed back and looked at him with watery green eyes. “He took them.” Henry died inside. 

“I’m so sorry Barry….” 

The boy began sobbing again and Henry looked back up at Joe. “Keep Lee away from me. After what he did….” He looks down at Barry. “I might not be able to control myself.” 

Joe nods. Henry can see he feels the same way. If Henry ever does get his hands on Marshall Lee, he will regret the day he was born, but for now, he has his son sobbing in his lap. He clutches the little boy tighter. No one deserved to have this done to them. 

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

Oliver nodded grimly. “I can only imagine.” 

Silence echoed once more. 

Oliver knew very well that Barry hated silence. So it was no surprise when the man began babbling. 

“Can I look at your wings, Oliver? I promise I won’t do anything to hurt you, I just want to look. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen them. Last time was in a magazine before the island and I guess I want to check on them? Looking at your brace I would think that not many people know….” Barry’s voice trailed as Oliver’s still 10-foot wing span. The feathers were a mess, clearly it had been a long time since they had been groomed. 

Barry’s hands began working before he could process it.

Fingers delved into softness. He began to run his fingers along the stalks, straightening them.   
He felt Oliver shudder, but it didn’t even register. 

It had been a long time since anyone had touched Oliver’s wings. When Barry first touched them, he was hit with a startling sense of comfort. Oliver slowly relaxed as the other man’s fingers danced across his plumage relieving aches and itches. Barry began humming something that sounded like the intro to The Big Bang Theory. Oliver melted into his touch. 

It felt fantastic. 

But then it stopped.

Oliver snapped his wings in and looked at Barry, betrayed. Barry held out his hand's defence, before whispering. “I heard people, I figured that your wings may not be something you want to share yet.” Oliver listened and sure enough, voices and boots could be heard. Oliver slipped his jacket back on and turned to look at Barry, who had set a hand on his shoulder. 

“If you want I can finish that later, you certainly need it. Sleeping can’t be comfortable.” Oliver nodded and Barry’s smile lit up the room. Then the door crashed open and Barry ran over to greet the obviously shaken up team Flarrow. 

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

Ten minutes later team Flash had disappeared following Ray to look at something he had made. Oliver brooded as Laurel, Roy, Felicity, Thea, Dig and Lyla talked about their win tonight. His phone buzzed in his pocket, it was Barry. 

BA: Keep your window open. 

Oliver smiled. 

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

That night after everyone had gone home or began the journey back to Central City, Oliver sat on his bed on his computer with the window open. At exactly 12:13 a stream of lighting burst into the room and there stood Barry. His hair was wind whipped and his shoes were smoking. He smiled awkwardly. 

“I feel like I am rescuing a princess from an Ivory tower. Which to be honest isn’t that far from the truth.” Oliver frowned and Barry laughed and made his way to the bed. 

He kicked off his shoes and sat down next to Oliver. “Whatcha doin’?” 

Oliver turned the computer to face him. “Seeing how much media coverage we got tonight.” Sure enough, there were several news tabs pulled up. Barry rolled his eyes and snatched the computer away from Oliver. 

“I refuse to groom you while you brood, It's not healthy.” Oliver frowned again as Barry smacked his arm and pulled out a hard drive. “What haven’t you seen? I mean I am up for anything, but I’m feeling pretty trek-y right now.” He looked up at Oliver who seemed confused. 

“You mean Star Trek?” Barry nodded. “Aren’t those from like, the sixties?” 

A smile bloomed on Barry’s face. “You haven’t seen the new ones have you?” Oliver shook his head as Barry pulled it up. 

Chris Hemsworth’s face appeared on the screen as Barry settled behind Oliver. “Open up Oliver.” Oliver let his wings spread out, filling up the bed. Long fingers began twisting and tweaking all the right places and Oliver relaxed. He listened as Barry muttered about the state of his wings or breathed lines of the movie on his bare skin. He loved it.

Eventually Barry came in front of him and began to fix the insides of his wings. Oliver let the movie and gentle touches consume him. Because of this, he was acutely aware when the touches stopped. He whipped his head around looking for Barry. That was when he realized that Barry had stopped sometime ago and that he had fallen asleep with his head resting on a pillow next to Oliver’s lap. Oliver smiled lightly and ran his fingers through the younger man’s hair. He finished the rest of the movie, closed his computer and pulled out the flash drive before tucking back in Barry’s pocket. He sighed and laid down beside the man next to him. There was no point in moving him and Oliver didn’t feel like moving either. 

Two minutes after closing his eyes, he was asleep. 

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

He woke up to an empty bed and a note. It only had one word. 

Anytime. 

He stood up and stretched before realizing for the first time in years he had slept through the night. 

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

It was a long time until Oliver saw Barry again. A lot had been going on, but he got his weekly update from Felicity on what was happening in Central City. It seemed like Barry was finally finding in a groove. 

Not that he was jealous at all that this “groove” didn’t involve him.

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

Thea was getting very sick of late night visitors. 

She dragged herself away from the kitchen table, casually grabbing a large knife on the way. She looked through the peephole and was greeted by a cute guy holding what looked like a bow case. She opened the door just a crack, just enough to poke her head out. 

“Is there something I can help you with?” 

At the sight of her, the man instantly became flustered. “Uh… I was wondering if Oliver was here….” 

“He might be, depends on who's asking.”

“Uh…” The man’s blush was slowly taking over his face. “Tell him it’s Barry Allen.”

“I’ve never heard of you before.” She looked him up and down before meeting his eyes with her best Laurel taught death glare. 

“We’re friends from work.” 

“Okay….” 

Thea slammed the door shut, wonder where Oliver had managed to pick up someone so easily flustered. “Ollie! Some cute guy named Barry is looking for you!” A crash was heard from upstairs and Oliver came stumbling down the stairs. He walked quickly towards her, almost jogging. 

She hadn’t seen her brother like this in a long time. Not since Laurel. Not since before the island. This made her wonder who this Barry guy was. 

He pushed past her and opened the door. Barry still stood there, looking a little lost and very flustered. When he realized it was Oliver, he smiled. He stepped forward and shook his bag.

“I come baring gifts.” Oliver motioned for him to come in and he did, gingerly scooting by Oliver.   
He toed off his shoes and looked at Thea, who was still glaring daggers at him. He turned to her brother. “I think your sister might be scarier than mine.” 

Oliver chuckled. “I don’t know… Remember that one time whenakdhkfajlkj….” Barry shoved a hand over Oliver’s mouth. 

“We don’t need to talk about that!” Oliver’s laugh was muffled by said hand. 

Thea crossed her hands across her chest. “I might need to meet this Iris.” 

Barry looked at her in horror. “I couldn’t do that to the world. I don’t think it could take Thea and Iris together.” Oliver just chuckled some more. Thea smiled. She liked this guy, he made Oliver laugh. 

Awkward silence only echoed for second before Barry got down to business. “This is something I have been working on with the help of Cisco, Harry, Stein, Ray, and Caitlin. I thought you might appreciate it.” He walked over and set his black bag on the coffee table. Thea and Oliver both ambled over to see what was inside. Barry unzipped the bag and pushed back the flap. 

Laying in the black cloth was a set of golden wings. Or at least part of some wings. 

Thea looked over at her brother who in turn looked like someone had just punched him in the gut. He looked at Barry. “Are those?”

“Exactly what you think they are.” The man assures. Oliver looks at this man with some emotion Thea can’t place. When she does place it, she realizes she no longer exists in their world. 

Reverence. 

She fake yawned. “I’m pretty tired, gonna hit the hay. Nice to meet you, Barry.” Oliver nods distractedly and Barry waves and smiles softly. She walks up the stairs hoping that whatever was going on would be a good tipping point for Oliver. 

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

Oliver stared down at the metallic feathers that lay on the table in front of him. He reached out and gently touched them before looking up at Barry, clearly asking for an explanation. Barry was happy to oblige. 

“I realized last time that I was here that I could fix your problem. I started working on it the day I got back and we finally perfected it.” He pauses to pick up one of the four foot pieces. “They are set up to literally become part of you. It’s like a living membrane. We built it so that it would be an extension of your wing. Blood will pump through it and it has a set of mechanical nerves that allow it to react to brain waves but not feel. They’re bulletproof and able to change colour.” He handed the piece to Oliver who was surprised how light it was. He studied it. 

Each individual feather seemed hand crafted, each had an individual pattern stamped into the coppery gold coloured metal. The whole thing looked to have been done in unimaginable detail. He looked up at Barry who was watching him study the wing. 

“The one drawback is the pain,” Barry whispered softly. “It would have to melt the scars so that it could attach. After that, though, It should be good forever. It will literally link into your system and you will rejuvenate it and upgrade it as time goes on.” 

“How?”

“F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M tech.” 

Oliver set his jaw. “Let’s try it.” 

Barry looked at him nervously. “Are you sure?”

 

Oliver nodded. “Yes, but not here.” He set the wing in the bag and zipped it up before grabbing Barry’s arm and dragging him towards the roof access. 

Oliver was going to fly again. 

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

Ten minutes later, Oliver stood on the roof shirtless, wings outstretched. Barry crouched next to Oliver’s right wing. He looked down at the wing piece and then at Oliver, anxiety clear in his posture. 

“You ready?” He asked.

“Just do it.” Oliver managed through clenched teeth, preparing himself for pain. 

Barry set the two wing pieces together. It took all of Oliver’s strength to cry out. A golden light flared as the two pieces melded together. All Barry could do was watch in awe. 

When the light subsided, Oliver felt a familiar weight hanging from his back. He flapped the wing scrunching his face up at the pain. He could feel it, the soft breeze as it ruffled his feathers, metal and organic alike. He looked at Barry who had been standing back. 

“Ready to do it again?” 

“Yeah.” Barry scurried over to his other side holding the other wing segment. He lined it up and put the two together with no warning to Oliver. This time, he cried out. The same light burned as the metal and skin became one. Once more Barry was awestruck. 

As soon as the light stopped Oliver took off. Huge wing beats echoed off the buildings near by as Oliver soared twenty feet in the air. He rose higher and higher until Barry was just a speck. Then he dove. The world blurred and his eyes teared up. Fifty feet above the ground he pulled up and shot back into the sky. He flew for a second more, savoring the feeling after so long, before landing back on the roof next to Barry. 

Barry looked at him like he had just been given a halo. “Looks like they work.” 

Then Oliver was kissing him. 

Barry was surprised at first, but then he melted. Pressing back and clutching Oliver’s shirt as though the older man would disappear. Oliver grabbed his hips and pulled him closer. When they finally pulled apart, Barry looked a little kiss drunk and Oliver smirked at his expression. 

“Am I dreaming?” Barry asked, eyeing Oliver suspiciously. 

Oliver chuckled. “No Barry, this is real.” 

“Oh…. Well good.” Barry kissed him again. It was perfect. It was at this moment Oliver decided that he would do anything to protect the man in his arms. 

After a moment, they broke apart to breath. Barry rested his head against Oliver’s chest and sighed. “We’ll have to do more tests tomorrow and we should probably have Caitlin and Stein check to make sure we did everything right.” He pushed back and looked at Oliver. “I’m tired.” Oliver could see it, his shoulders stooped a little, he was unsteady on his long legs. Oliver grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the stairs down. 

“Let’s go to sleep then.” Barry nodded as Oliver dragged him inside and into his bedroom. Barry stripped to boxers and a t-shirt, Oliver offered him a pair of pants which he took happily and then slid into bed. Oliver smiled as the man’s eye fluttered and he fell asleep in under a minute. He pulled on his pajama pants and was about to climb into his bed when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and slipped out and down the stairs to the living area. 

“Dr. Snow, what can I do for you?”   
“Is Barry there with you?” Caitlin asked.  
“Yes, he’s currently sleeping, what’s the matter?”  
“Good and nothing. Make sure he keeps sleeping, tell him he has no work tomorrow.”  
“May I ask why?”   
“He’s spent the last few months working on your gift day and night. I am pretty sure he hasn’t had a solid night of sleep since we left Star last time.” 

Oliver frowned, he’d have to talk to Barry about it later. 

“I’ll make sure he gets what he needs.”   
“Good, and if you hurt him, I and many other people will kill you.” The line clicked dead. 

He sighed and set his phone on the table. Deciding it better to deal with this in the morning, he climbed the stairs back to his room. Opening the door quietly he smiled at the lump that was Barry Allen in his bed. Oliver climbed in behind the other man, who promptly scooted towards him. A fond smile occupied Oliver’s face as he pulled the boy to his chest. His wings fluttered in excitement at the thought and feeling of Barry, tucked in his arms. He closed his eyes and fell asleep in a matter of seconds. 

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

The next morning when he walked downstairs, he was greeted by Thea’s smirk. 

“How is Barry?” She asked over the mug coffee in her hands. 

Oliver poured himself some. “Sleeping.” 

Thea quirked a brow. “Oh… In your bed or his own?” 

Oliver scowled. “Where do you think?”

Thea laughed at his grumpy cat face. “You finally got laid! You needed it, bro. Apparently all that was need was to give you part of a wing?” 

Oliver sighed at his sister’s antics. “I did not get laid. Barry gave me something I never thought I would have again. He gave me my wings back.” He let his wings stretch out. Thea gasped at how the golden and brown feathers met their golden metal partners. She reached out to touch the wings, Oliver flinched but let her do it. She looked at him in amazement. 

“Barry made these?” She stroked the metal feathers and he nodded. “Wow…” 

Oliver couldn’t disagree. 

“You were pinioned.” She said it as a fact, not a question. 

“On the island.”

“And Barry figured out how to give you back your flight. Well…. That is the most amazing thing ever. I like him Oliver, keep him.” She absentmindedly began fixing the feathers, straightening and grooming. 

Silence settled and it was comfortable. 

It was broken by a crash upstairs.

Instantly both siblings were on guard, until Oliver remembered that he forgot to tell Barry that he didn’t have work today. He would bet that the speedster was freaking out not only because he was in Star in Oliver’s bed, but also the fact that it was 7:45 and he was due in at 6:30. His sleep addled brain was probably trying to assemble his stuff to leave. Oliver decided to have mercy. “Barry,” He shouted across the apartment. “You don’t have work today!” The crashing stopped and Thea snickered. 

Two minutes later, Barry sped into the room and collapsed on the counter, his hair extra fluffy from both sleep and sleepy running. Oliver filled up a mug and set it next to his face. The man must have smelled it because he perked up instantly. He grabbed the cup and began looking around, just beginning to familiarize himself with the space. His eyes landed on Thea. She was staring at him in absolute shock. “Good morning Thea!” He said cheerily. The girl turned angrily to Oliver. 

“How come you didn’t tell me he was the Flash?!” 

It then dawned on Barry. “Damn.” 

Oliver just laughed. “What are Joe’s rules about running sleepy?” Barry laid his head down on the counter. Thea looked at him in a new light. 

Then she pouted. “Super speed and super smarts? That is just not fair.” Barry peeked at her from behind arms. She saw his face growing rapidly and laughed. She ruffled his hair. “You are adorable.” Barry made a noise of indignation. Oliver smiled, he could get used to this. 

They talked amicably over breakfast, Oliver enjoying the domesticity of it all. Eventually Thea left to go on a date with Roy, leaving Barry and Oliver alone. Barry looked up at him, obviously beginning to feel shy if the blush creeping up his neck was any indication. 

“So… Uh… I guess we should talk about, you know….” He looked up at Oliver practically begging him to say something. 

“Us?” 

Barry let out a sigh. “Yes… What is us?”

Oliver set his mug down on the counter. “Do we have to define it? Could we not just let it go its course?” Oliver watched some of the tension wash out of Barry’s shoulders. 

“Yeah, that sounds good….” Barry looks down at his hands and Oliver watches the tiredness from the night before settle upon him. Oliver pulls the mug out of his hands and grabs them, tugging him out of his seat. 

“Let’s go back to bed. Caitlin said you haven’t been getting good enough sleep and Thea got some new blackout curtains I want to try.” Barry let himself be tugged away from the kitchen and up the stairs. Oliver led him into his room and Barry sped into the only recently vacated bed. Oliver laughed as Barry buried himself under the blankets. 

Oliver walked over to the wind and pulled down the blackout curtains before striding towards the bed. He settled next to Barry, he could feel the tension between them, that wasn’t going to work for him. He grabbed the younger man and pulled him to his chest. Barry was rigid for only a minute before he sighed in to Oliver’s embrace. The older man let out a huff of amusement and kissed him on the head. 

Just as Barry was about to fall asleep, Oliver shifted and he was surrounded by feathers and metal. For the first time since lightning struck, Barry felt safe. 

It was needless to say that he fell asleep pretty fast. 

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

The rest of the day was spent napping, eating and kissing. When it was time for Barry to go the next morning, the deal was sealed with a kiss and a promise of being back that night. Oliver was pretty damn happy. 

He spent the rest of his morning playing with the new toys Barry had brought him. As a final stage of his gift, Barry had made nanobots controlled by his mask that changed his wing’s colours so they could be used in his vigilante-ing. He had practised flying around the city and was now in the Foundry working on flying and shooting, and controlling the colours of his wings. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn’t even notice when the rest of Team Arrow entered. It was the gasps that alerted him. 

“Oliver… What happened to your wings?” Laurel asked gently as Oliver whipped around bow primed to shoot. 

Thea pushed through the small crowd. When she finally saw Oliver’s now grey wings, she quirked a brow. “They change colours? I didn’t know that. How?” 

“Nanobots.” Oliver said gruffly, obviously a little bit flustered to be caught unaware. 

“Of course, what next Nanobots for everyone?” She asked sarcastically. 

“Actually….” 

Thea cut him off. “Really?” He nodded and she fist pumped. “Me first of course.” She said giving her brother a look. Oliver huffed at the look on her face. She just stuck out her tongue and walked over to her and Roy’s shared display. 

“Could we have an explanation please. I want to be in the loop.” Laurel said hands on her hips. 

All Oliver did was take off his mask. There were gasps when they saw the sight of Oliver’s now dual coloured wings. Felicity reached out and gently touched the metal. She stared up at him with big blue eyes. “You were pinioned.” Oliver nodded and shivered as she ran her hand along the seam of his wing’s parts. “Now you can fly again. Who did this?” 

“Pinioning or….” Oliver asked quietly. 

“Both….” Laurel said stepping up, Roy and Dig close behind her. 

“The pinioning was Slade…. The new wings were Barry.”

Felicity laughed startling everyone. “This is the project he was working on?” She glared up at Oliver. “You better be grateful, I am pretty sure that 60% of the stuff used to make those,” she gestured at the wings. “Is theoretical. I am also pretty sure that not all of those materials are from this universe.”

“I know, he tried to spend all of yesterday explaining how each part worked and honestly I only understood about half of the things that came out of his mouth.” Everyone laughed. 

Dig was the next to speak. “Good for you man. Did you guys finally get over yourselves?” 

Oliver said nothing and Dig turned to Felicity, who sighed exasperatedly. She dug into the purse that rested on her hip, pulled out a wad of cash, and handed it to Diggle. She glared at Oliver even harder. “You couldn’t have waited a month? Now I owe him free babysitting.”

Oliver frowned at his friends and watched Laurel and Roy exchange money. “I am going back to work.” He turned away as everybody laughed and began to prepare for a long night. 

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

The next couple of months held Barry speeding over, Oliver being less broody and a lot of flying. The newly winged Green Arrow struck fear and awe into the hearts of many and crime in Star City was at an all time low. It was because of this that Original Team Arrow decided to go on a little vacation to Central city. 

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

David Singh was not having a good day. Robbie had just recently purged the house of anything that was even mildly sugary. He had also limited to two cups of coffee. So, needless to say he was already a little bit grumpy. 

That little bit was multiplied exponentially with the appearance of one Oliver Queen in his Office. Yes, the Oliver Queen, Billionaire, Playboy, stranded on island for five years, yeah, that guy. Singh’s own dark brown wings puffed up in anxiety upon seeing him. 

He forced himself to relax and allowed his wings to arch just a little bit. “What can I do for you Mr. Queen?” He leaned forward and set his woven hands on his desk. Queen took a step closer. Singh felt like he was being assessed. It was disconcerting to say the least. 

Oliver broke the silence that had ballooned between him and the captain of the CCPD. “I was wondering where I could find Barry Allen.” 

Singh heaved a sigh and rubbed his face, before murmuring “Allen… It's always Allen….” He felt Oliver watching his every move, he looked up quickly, only to discover Oliver had suddenly become quite interested in his name tag. “Allen is on a job, he’ll be back in,” David paused to looked at his watch. “Whenever he gets back. If you don’t mind, I was wondering why you were looking for the kid.” Because despite appearances, most people who worked at the precinct were pretty protective of their nerdy CSI. 

Singh watched as Oliver’s wings began to arch in slight defence. “I was in town and well….” 

Oliver was saved by Officer Doyle peeking his head in. “Sir, there is something I think you are going to want to see.” Singh was instantly out of his desk, hand on his holster and following the obviously shaken officer out the door. 

Standing in the middle of the precinct was a man with very fucked up wings and a gun, not a normal one either, a science-y looking one. His eyes swept across the frozen officers until they met Singh’s. 

“Director Singh.” He hissed. “You took away the only good thing in my life, so I am going to take things that you care about until I’m satisfied.” 

Singh took a step, the gun swung to point at him. “Can I ask what I took?” 

“My wings” The man growled. Singh felt Queen stiffen beside him. 

It was at this point Barry Allen, the CSI, not even a real officer, stood up behind the man. “Excuse me.” The man whipped around so that he was facing Allen. Singh turned to ask if Oliver was okay, only to find that he was gone. 

All eyes were on the young CSI. “I thought I told you not to move.” The man’s voice dripped with venom. 

Allen just stood taller. “Stop this.” The man opened his mouth to retort but the CSI cut him off. “I get the whole need for revenge thing, I do, but is this anyway to go about it. I get that you want to fly, I get that you’re angry, and I understand you want someone to pay, but is this really the way to go about it?” 

The man’s dilapidated wings shook with fury. “How would you know anything I am feeling?” 

Barry stuck out his hand like he was dealing with a skittish animal. “When I was 13 a man cut off my wings with an Ax.” There were gasps as this was not common knowledge at CCPD. “All I wanted was to get back at him, to get back what he took from me and sometimes I still do. I realized that not even my wings were worth killing for.” Silence echoed through the room. The man still pointed the gun at Barry, but his grip had loosened a little.

Singh was about to sigh in relief, when the man’s eyes hardened. “Thats a nice story, but I still want revenge. I’ll start with you.” He fired the gun. 

All Singh could do was watch in horror, but just as the beam was about to hit Allen, he was enveloped by a pair of golden metal wings. The beam died as it came in contact with the wings and when it stopped, there wasn’t even a scratch. The man’s jaw dropped and he was frozen in place. Singh took his chance. One blow to the head and the man crumpled. 

The golden wings unwrapped to reveal a dazed Barry Allen and a grumpy looking Oliver Queen. The older of the two tucked his wings once more and was currently hugging the CSI like something was going to magically appear and steal him away. 

When Oliver did finally let Barry go, he turned him so that he was looking at his face. “Never do that again.” Barry opened his mouth to retort, but Oliver cut him off. “You don’t always have to be the hero.” 

It was at this moment Singh decided that he liked Oliver Queen. There was one thing he was interested in. “How did your wings do that?” He watched as Queen looked at Allen who just shrugged as they had an eye conversation. Then Queen extended his wings. A little after the halfway mark feathers transformed to metal. There were gasps. 

Barry turned to Oliver “Is that the only reaction you get?” Oliver gives him a pointed look and he just laughed. 

Singh cleared his throat and Queen’s eyes were instantly on him. “When I was on the island, I was pinioned by another man. Barry built these for me.” 

Singh’s jaw dropped. “How is that even possible?”He turned to Allen. “How does it work?” 

Barry looked at him sheepishly. “Do you really want to know sir?” 

Singh snapped back to reality and he rubbed a hand down his face. “No, actually, I don’t. You have the rest of the day off Allen. I expect you to be back on time tomorrow.” 

The smile that consumed the CSI’s face was worth it. “Yes sir.” He grabbed Queen’s arm. “Let’s go Ollie.” Then they were gone.

Singh watched them leave before looking at the man lying, now handcuffed, on the ground in front of him. He pinched the bridge of his nose, this was going to be a lot of paperwork. 

zZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz

That night when Barry was safely tucked in Oliver’s arms, he finally relaxed. The younger man was already almost asleep. Oliver held him tighter and he made a noise of contentment. “Never do that again. You could have died and then where would we be.” 

“Not here that's for sure.” Barry wiggled to prove a point and smiled sleepily. 

Oliver frowned. “Barry I’m being serious.” 

“Protective much?” 

“Do you know what I would do if I lost you?” Oliver asked, pain seeping into his voice. 

Barry turned to look at him. “I am right here. Don’t talk like that.” He kissed Oliver. 

The other man sighed into the kiss and when Barry broke it, Oliver kissed his head. 

“Let’s go to sleep.” The younger man adjusted himself and snuggled into Oliver’s chest. 

Oliver wrapped his wings around Barry. He would protect him from everything. Barry made him feel something that he thought he would never have again. 

To feel human.

**Author's Note:**

> For Oliver's wings, I was thinking a golden eagle. That's really it.... Sorry, I kind of handwaved the science stuff....


End file.
